Truth Be Told
by danaozz
Summary: Malfoy sees Hermione in a different light...she has a weird dream...R for later chapters
1. Small Difference

Draco POV  
  
Truth be told, I never thought of Granger that way before. She was just a two-dimensional character to me. A prissy, know-it-all, Mudblood. 1/3 of the Holy Trinity. And that's all. I don't think I ever truly saw her before. Until that day at the lake.  
  
It was a hot day early in September. I was off for a walk around the lake, trying to get away from those twits I call my classmates. As I walked, I noticed a figure off in the distance, reclining by the water. And I heard music; loud, obnoxious Muggle music. As I got closer, I noticed it was Granger. In a bloody bikini at that.  
  
"What are you doing, Granger? Sunbathing?"  
  
She glanced up at me, squinting at the sun, and responded, "Yes, what's it to you, Malfoy?" As usual spitting my name out as if it tasted bad just to say it.  
  
"Oh, I thought, perhaps, the way you hid under those Muggle clothes and your robes, that perhaps you were a burn victim or something."  
  
She huffed and pretended to ignore me. Of course, she couldn't ignore me.  
  
"Anyway Granger, don't you know there's a spell for getting a tan. And what in the bloody hell are you listening to? It's awful."  
  
"It's a mix tape."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Honestly, Malfoy, do you ever break out to the Muggle world? It is a majority of the world out there."  
  
"Ugh, why dirty myself up for the likes of...what do you call this music, anyway?"  
  
"This is a group called the Sex Pistols."  
  
"Oooh, Granger, sounds risque."  
  
"Bugger off Malfoy, you're standing in my sun now."  
  
"Like I'd want to hang around with you, Mudblood."  
  
"Lousy ferret," she muttered as I took off back the way I'd came.  
  
Another exhilarating exchange with that filthy girl. That filthy girl that actually looked damned good in a bikini. Okay, thoughts like that were NOT ALLOWED in my head. I tried to forget about her and get on with my day.  
  
Later that day  
  
Well, I tried to forget but it wasn't working. I kept seeing her in my head, noticing things I hadn't noticed the first time around. Like a bead of sweat that rolled down her chest between her breasts. The smell of her lotion. The way she'd grown so much curvier over the summer. To top it off, that ruddy awful song kept playing itself through my head in an endless loop.  
  
I am an antichrist I am an anarchist Don't know what I want But I know how to get it I wanna destroy, passer-by  
  
Cause I wanna be anarchy  
  
Granger was listening to this? Anarchy? Granger? This was obviously a side to her I didn't know of. I was truly intrigued. And that'd how it started. Simple really. I knew it would be my downfall. No Malfoy could dirty himself with the likes of her. Yet, hard as I tried, no amount of distraction could get her out of my mind.  
  
Still, there was no way I was going to let this get the best of me.  
  
Hermione POV  
  
Truth be told, I thought I hated Malfoy. After all he done to me and my friends, how could I feel anything but hate? After that little exchange by the lake, I definitely wasn't feeling any friendlier.  
  
Then I had a dream. It was truly nonsensical. I was in a cottage by the ocean. Harry came in with a baby in his arms. I knew this child was ours. He kissed me on the cheek, and handed me the baby, telling me to put it to bed. So I did. Under the sink. This was where babies slept in my dream. Very strange upon waking, but completely normal in my dream. Anyway, Harry and I kissed some more, but I was getting annoyed and tried to push him away, when to my surprise he turned into Malfoy. Then I really got into it. We made love passionately and then I woke up.  
  
As I lay in bed thinking of this dream, I felt really confused, disgusted, and, well, turned on. I tried to go back to sleep but I kept thinking of my dream, how he sounded moaning my name, his lips on mine. I knew I was in trouble.  
  
A/N: More to follow if you like! 


	2. Noticing

Draco POV  
  
Several days later I was still trying to overcome my feelings. I'd gone down to breakfast and picked at my food, looking for her, but trying not to look for her. Then when she came in, I'd try to concentrate on my food. And then I'd find myself gazing at her. Gazing, for gods' sake. I don't gaze at girls. I devour them.  
  
On this particular morning, I noted that she was late coming to the Great Hall. She finally came in; looking a bit disheveled, but still adorable. Ugh, I was disgusting myself. She caught me staring at her a few times, but I just gave her my trademark smirk and she looked away. I felt that I had to get control lest she realize what I felt. Yet part of me wanted her to know.  
  
Classes went as usual, until we came to Potions. Snape ended up pairing students up to make a rather complicated potion. I got paired with Parkinson, and that bastard Longbottom got Granger. I think Snape was actually trying to minimize mishaps in this way!  
  
Well, it didn't work. I was too bloody busy gazing at Granger, I didn't notice Parkinson put too much slug juice in the damn cauldron. Snape pronounced the potion a "glorious failure".  
  
After class, I gathered up my things and was about to walk out when I heard a voice, that voice, say my name...  
  
Hermione POV  
  
After that bizarre dream, I made my way to the Great Hall. I must have been in another world because Ginny made some kind of comment about my hair and lack of grooming. Eh, could that mop on my head get any worse?  
  
I glanced over at Malfoy a few times, before I even noticed I was doing it. And god help me if he wasn't looking right back at me. With that insufferable smirk on his face. My stomach did a flip-flop every time my eyes met his.  
  
Later in Potions, I noticed he was still looking at me. Even Neville noticed.  
  
"Hermione, why is Malfoy looking at you like that?"  
  
"I have no idea, Neville. He was doing it at breakfast, too."  
  
"Well, you'd better watch out. He's probably up to no good."  
  
Neville was right. I decided to get to the bottom of this. Just because I was currently feeling a very fleeting attraction to the boy, didn't mean that I was going to lose my head and just watch him plan something against me and probably my friends. So after class I stopped him.  
  
"Malfoy."  
  
"Granger...what?" he answered with a very annoyed look.  
  
"Why have you been staring at me?"  
  
"You're out of your mind, Granger. I'd burn my bloody eyes out looking at you."  
  
"Mmm-hmm. That's why every time I look at you, you're looking at me, right?"  
  
"Oh...and why are you looking at me then?"  
  
"Uh, I, well, I was just looking around to see how everyone else was doing with their potion," I stuttered. Not the best answer, but my stomach was doing that thing again.  
  
"You are such a damn nosy know-it-all, aren't you? Want to make sure no one else is doing it as well as you, eh?"  
  
"NO! I'm just naturally curious, that's all."  
  
"Naturally curious? That could get you into trouble, Granger," he said as he took a step closer.  
  
"Curiosity didn't really kill the cat, Malfoy."  
  
"Wha-what does a cat have to do with this?" Another step closer. "Is this another bloody Muggle saying?" he said with narrowed eyes. Another step and now he was practically on my foot. He was so close, and now I felt positively light-headed. I could smell him, and he smelled...good. Great actually. Not cologne, just a musky smell, mixed with soap. I really had to go before I said something unbelievably dumb.  
  
"No, I, uh, have to go now Malfoy...uh, bye."  
  
He grabbed my arm and pulled me right up to him. I tried not to notice his beautiful grey eyes. He said, "Bye? You're not getting away that easy. Look, Granger, don't question me or what I do. I have better things to do than answer to a filthy Mudblood," he spat and stormed off.  
  
Yup, beautiful on the surface, still the devil underneath. I was really going to have to work this thing out of my system. 


	3. The little things in life

A/N Wow. Thanks for all the reviews guys! I was so nervous...now I have the strength to move on! (  
  
"I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
Only when I start to think about you I know  
  
Only when you start to think about me do you know"  
  
-Three Days Grace  
  
Malfoy POV  
  
Honestly, I really thought I hated her. Her and everything she stood for. I mean, that woman just gets me just shaking! Usually with anger. Now though, it was quite a mix of anger and...some other emotion I wasn't sure I could put a name to yet. Frankly, I wasn't comfortable giving it a name.  
  
So the days went by in this fashion: I would try to ignore Granger. Inevitably, though, I would get involved in some silly spat with her. Quite exhilarating, really, and I began looking forward to these squabbles.  
  
The truth is, I was rather torn. I found myself think of her at odd moments during the day. I'd be getting dressed in the morning and wonder, 'would she like the black shirt or the green?'. If I succeeded concocting a rather complicated potion, I'd think to myself, 'ah, wouldn't Granger be impressed.' And the dreams. The dreams were wonderful. I couldn't always remember them, but when I awoke, it was as if I could feel her essence around me. It was a feeling that lingered for most of the day. It left me feeling peaceful and yet anxious. I remembered her lips, how they felt pressed beneath mine. I remembered running my fingers through her thick hair, the hair that I used to tease her about. I remembered touching her skin, so soft and sensual. I didn't dream about her everynight, but I found myself wishing I did. I started talking to myself. And passing that Golden Boy Potter in the halls was particularly torturous. I usually took every chance I had to make his life just a bit more miserable, but lately, if he were with her, I'd let the opportunity slip. Part of me was too busy gazing (yes, I was gazing again) at her, and part of me didn't want to upset her. I was seriously beginning to wonder about my sanity.  
  
You see, I was raised a certain way, that is, to hate Muggles and Muggle- born. They were impure, dirty and vile. And even though I was finding serious fault in my father's ways, it is very hard to abandon something you've been taught for 16 years. Then again, I was also taught to take what I want. Yes, shameful as it was, I was starting to realize that I wanted her. Not only did I want her bodily, I wanted to know more about her: what she liked; what she did to relax and all sorts of other trivial things. I say trivial because, well, I never really cared what anyone else liked or did. Now I found myself wondering if she preferred treacle tart to lemon custard! RIDICULOUS!  
  
So, after much thought, and much desire, I finally decided: what Draco wants, Draco will certainly get.  
  
Hermione POV  
  
Honestly, I could not figure out why that boy found it so amusing to harass me so mercilessly. He argued, he smirked and the worse of it, he invaded my space! I didn't know whether to slap him or just run away before I did something entirely unspeakable. After all, those dreams were still plaguing me, leaving me with strange thoughts, and even stranger desires.  
  
I was sitting, minding my own business, in the library, researching some spells. Halloween was around the corner, and everyone was feeling particularly festive. It was rather getting on my nerves, as it was getting a bit too noisy to study.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approach. Then I heard that voice that sent shivers down my spine.  
  
"Ahem, Granger."  
  
"Yes, Malfoy."  
  
"Look, I hate to do this, but I'm taking Muggle Studies this year, and I have an essay I need you to help me write." He said this in a very exasperated tone of voice.  
  
"Goodness, Malfoy, asking a Muggle-born for help? If that could even be considered asking. What is this world coming to?"  
  
"Listen, Granger, don't be a wench about it. I thought who better than a Mud - er Muggle-born herself."  
  
"Honestly, why should I help you? Watching you fail something might be fun."  
  
"Because, it would give you an opportunity to prove your superiority over me...in this subject anyway," he said with a look of amusement on his face.  
  
"That is somewhat tempting. Alright, what do you want to know?"  
  
"Okay, I'm stuck with 'Muggle Forms of Entertainment'. What the heck is a 'Play Station'?"  
  
"It's an electronic piece of equipment with which you can play games. The games are projected, sort of, onto a television."  
  
"Uh, 'television'? And what kind of games?"  
  
And so it went. I was shocked at Malfoy's complete ignorance of anything Muggle-related. His family must have kept him quite insulated. I helped him for a few hours, until I finally said, "Alright, I think we studied the nuances of the entertainment system for long enough. I'm knackered and really need to get some rest."  
  
"I should have enough information for my essay. Muggles are bloody strange. Anyway, thanks, Granger."  
  
Never having thought I would hear the words 'thank you' out of Malfoy's mouth, I stuttered, "Uh, um, okay, no, uh, problem, really."  
  
Without warning, he took my hand in his, looked deeply into my eyes, said in a soft voice, "No, really, it was...very kind of you, considering the way you and I have never gotten along."  
  
I was at once on the verge of melting, what with the way he was looking at me and the sheer proximity of him, and yet, I was very suspicious of his civil behavior. So I pulled myself together, raised one eyebrow, turned the hand holding into a firm handshake, and said, "Really, Malfoy, no big deal. It's second nature to me. Good night." And then I made my way out of the library. I do think he was a bit stunned.  
  
I didn't know what he was planning, but he was NOT going to get the best of me. 


	4. Decisions decisions

Malfoy POV  
  
After our little library session, I held her hand, so soft and warm; looked into her beautiful, brown eyes, and said, in my sweetest voice, "No, really, it was...very kind of you, considering the way you and I have never gotten along."  
  
I swore that for a fleeting second I saw her eyes soften, her mouth relax; I thought I was starting to get through. Then that damned woman hardened back up, shook my hand, and responded icily that it was no big deal. I felt myself starting to get really infuriated. I stomped out of the library and back to the Slytherin common room.  
  
There I saw Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"Malfoy, where have you been? Been getting some action from one of the Hufflepuff girls, eh?" asked Goyle.  
  
"Or maybe a Ravenclaw?" said Crabbe.  
  
"Since you've already been through all of Slytherin." Goyle said with a snicker.  
  
"No, you twits. Get lost. I've got some thinking to do and seeing as you know nothing about that, both of you need to go!"  
  
I don't know where they get the idea that I've bedded half the girls in this school. Not that I couldn't, I'm just rather selective. After all, a Malfoy can't just waltz around shagging everything in sight. Thinking this way got me back to wondering about what I was doing with Granger. Thinking about what my fellow housemates would say. Thinking about what my father would say. It made me feel scared and shameful on the one hand, but free and exhilarated on the other. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I didn't want to be shackled down with what other people thought. I wanted to be near her, close to her. I wanted to touch her, to make her mine and to ruin her for all others. I was the Slytherin King and I would have what I wanted.  
  
So, next day after Potions, I lingered behind after class and caught Granger's attention.  
  
"Malfoy, can I help you?"  
  
Still being icy, I saw. "Yes, I want to show you something tonight. Meet me in the entrance hall at 8:00."  
  
"What do you want to show me?"  
  
"It's just...a little thank you for your help last night."  
  
"I told you it wasn't a big deal."  
  
Great, here comes Potter. "Hey, Hermione, what's going on? He bothering you?"  
  
"No, Harry. Everything's fine."  
  
"Yeah, well, we should get off to next class." Potter said, looking very suspiciously at me.  
  
"Don't worry Potter, I'm not going to break her. Listen, Granger, remember what I said."  
  
"Uh, I don't know, Malfoy, I'll think about it." And she and Potter walked off. I could hear him asking her what I was talking about. Last thing I need is that git interfering. You see, I had planned something very special and, hopefully, very satisfying, for tonight.  
  
"Make up your mind,  
  
Decide to walk with me,  
  
Around the lake tonight,  
  
Around the lake tonight  
  
By my side.  
  
By my side.  
  
I'm not gonna lie,  
  
I'll not be a gentleman.  
  
Behind the boathouse...  
  
I'll show you my dark secret."  
  
-The Toadies  
  
Hermione POV  
  
Oh my dear. What was I going to do? Part of me really, really wanted to meet him. And part of me didn't trust him at all. I reasoned with myself that there was really no reason to be scared of him. I was, after all, a very powerful witch and I had power to be reckoned with. After I realized this, I realized something else; the real reason I was afraid to meet him. I was worried I would do something silly.  
  
The dreams hadn't stopped. My feelings for him hadn't gone away. Everytime I was around him, I felt his presence like electricity. In Potions class, I noticed the way he worked, the way his hands moved. He had long slender fingers, piano player's hands. I wondered if he played. I wondered how those fingers would feel moving over my body, sliding down my back, playing me. Just thinking about it gave me shivers, prompting Harry to ask if I were cold! I knew I had to get a grip on myself. Immediately after thinking that, my next thought was, "Wouldn't it be better if Malfoy had a grip on you?"  
  
Yet, I knew it could never be. He would never be interested in me, a filthy Mudblood. And on the off chance he was, I feared I would become an outcast. Harry and Ron would never forgive me. I'd be sleeping with the enemy, for goodness sake. And I couldn't blame them, after all the shit he'd pulled. Not to mention the fact that I didn't think I could ever fully trust Draco Malfoy.  
  
I fought with myself for the rest of the day. Finally, his pull was just too strong and I made my way down to the entrance hall at 7:55. And there he was, leaning against the wall, head back, eyes shut, hands in pockets. Damn, why did he have to look so effortlessly sexy? I made the litany, "Enemy, enemy, enemy" run through my head as I walked toward him. That is, until he opened his silvery eyes, smiled at me and said, "Aah, I thought I felt you near." 


	5. Lights in the Sky

Malfoy POV  
  
I opened my eyes. "Aha, I thought I felt you near." My eyes lingered over her; she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that said "Coldplay" on the front. Another Muggle thing, I supposed, and hopefully not her attitude towards tonight.  
  
"Alright, Malfoy, I'm here. Now what do you want?"  
  
"Let's take a walk, shall we?"  
  
I could see the doubt and suspicion on her face as she pondered this, but eventually she nodded her head and stepped towards me. I laid my hand lightly on the small of her back and guided her out the door.  
  
As we headed out of the castle and towards the lake, I tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach. I had never been this nervous with a girl before. I was usually very confident. After all, I am Draco Malfoy. Who could resist? Granger, that's who. She was...different than the others.  
  
Finally we reached the edge of the lake. We were pretty far from the school at this point because I didn't want anybody seeing the little show I had planned.  
  
"Here we are."  
  
"Oooh, the lake. Really, Malfoy," she said with impatience in her voice.  
  
"No, no, just wait." I pulled out my wand, pointed at the sky and said, "Aurorbalis!"  
  
Immediately, the sky lit up with moving red and green flames of light. Hints of yellow and purple moved through the sky and all were reflected, swirling in the lake.  
  
"Malfoy...oh my goodness...It's so beautiful," she said softly.  
  
"I thought you might like it. The chances of seeing the aurora borealis are a bit low in this country, so I thought I'd show you my version."  
  
"I...I didn't know you could do this. I didn't know you would do this."  
  
"I appreciate beauty. In any form." I looked away from the sky and looked at her face. The lights reflected in her eyes and she had a look of child like wonder. I stepped away and found a suitable place to lay down my cloak. "Granger, come sit down." Barely taking her eyes off the sky, she sat down next to me.  
  
We silently watched the sky. The colors would sometimes stream quickly across the sky, sometimes swirl like a pinwheel, sometimes move slowly like a vast curtain of light. Eventually I found myself gazing at her instead of the sky, and I put my hand over hers. Rather than pull away, as I half-expected, she gave my hand a squeeze. I marveled again at how warm and soft her hands were. I wondered if her face was as soft. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was stroking her cheek with the back of my hand. Yes, she was so soft. She leaned in to my caress, closing her eyes. I moved my face towards hers and said, "Oh, Hermione, you feel like heaven." Scant inches separated her lips from mine as she whispered, "Oh, Malfoy, what have you done?" I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers, I had to know how they felt, and oh, they were so sweet. In a second, I tasted her: strawberries; smelled her: soap and lilies; felt her: amazing.  
  
She didn't move for a moment, and I cupped her jaw in my hand. She responded by moving her lips against mine. She put her hand lightly on my chest. I flicked my tongue out to lick at her lips and moved my hand into her hair. Her hair felt like silk, and I couldn't believe I had ever teased her about it. She opened her mouth just a little, and I snuck my tongue in to find hers. Surprisingly, she allowed me to, and gave a little moan. That sound did something to me and I lost all sense of reason. I pushed her down onto my cloak and kissed her harder. Our tongues were finding each other, twisting around each other. I stopped to suck on her lower lip, and she gave another little moan. I was burning for her now, amazed at the speed with which she had impassioned me. I moved my hand down from her hair to her neck, to her arm, down to her stomach and back up again. I wanted to feel all of her, taste all of her. We kissed there beneath the lights, and I thought I had broken through to her.  
  
I moved so that I was completely over her, one leg on either side of her, and now I had both hands free. One hand to touch that beautiful face, the other to roam over her body. I ran my hand down her thigh, squeezing lightly as I went. I felt her body beneath me, and I pressed myself into her. My mind was whirling like the lights in the sky. I felt dizzy and on fire. Dimly I became aware that she had stopped kissing me back, so I moved my lips to nuzzle at her neck. She was squirming underneath me and it felt so bloody good. I pressed my hips into hers; it seemed I could feel her heat through the denim. Part of me realized that she was pushing on my shoulders, pushing me away. The rest of me didn't care. I put one hand under her sweatshirt, so I could really feel her. I started to move my hand up from her warm belly, when suddenly she slapped me. I started to grab her hand when she kneed me in the groin.  
  
"Goddammit, woman! Are you bloody crazy? What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Me? What's wrong with me? You are an animal!"  
  
"What are you talking about? You were kissing me back! What the hell was that, then?"  
  
"Yes, I started to kiss you, and then I remembered who the ruddy hell you were! Goddamn Malfoy!" She said my name as if it were an insult.  
  
My blood was boiling now, and I took a step towards her and held her face. "Malfoy, eh? Is that all I am to you, a last name? Well, no one talks to a Malfoy like that!" I pulled her closer to me and kissed her hard, roughly. She was moving her lips against mine but at the same time struggling to get away.  
  
"Really what is wrong with you?" I shouted. Then I noticed the tears running down her face and I let her go. She turned around and ran off, back to the castle.  
  
I looked up at the sky, at those lights, and wondered where I went wrong...  
  
A/N Hermione's POV coming up next! 


End file.
